Bulgaria feature as one of the weaker teams here in the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Challenge and so a win by England was something of a forgone conclusion when the two sides met here in Sheffield this morning. However, it was the margin of the win which brought a smile of satisfaction to home supporters. England got off to a cautious start, probing the Bulgarian defence for weaknesses. Penev in the Bulgarian goal was all over any visitors to his circle rather like the legendary bad suit, but his defence paid the price with two penalty conversions in less than a minute giving England an early two goal advantage. The scorers were Adam Dixon and Richard Lane. Further first half goals were provided by James Southgate, Harry Jawanda, and Richard Smith. Having asserted their authority on the match, England came out more confident in the second half. Simon Egerton scored early, with further goals from Adam Dixon, David Beckett (2), Richard Smith and Harry Jawanda. Final score 11-0 to England.
A good performance by England against one of the outsiders. This is certainly not a match from which one can read too much but the score will benefit England’s goal difference when the final table is totalled up
